The Happy and the Hopeless
by The Manx Amongst Mongrels
Summary: A Vulcan who wants more- a girl with nowhere to go in her life. These two's destines are intertwined; what will they encounter together?
1. Prologue Part 1

Prologue (Part 1): The Vulcan

A young man raced across a plain. He wore a long dark cloak with a hood that covered his eyes. His surroundings were dry and dead; no green in sight. Finally he reached the bottom of a large hill with a winding path to the top. But he didn't stop there. He continued on up, making his way through its endless curves, unnerved, as if the steepness wasn't there. The strong legs ceased only when he reached the mouth of a cave. He paused and looked around to see the temple it led into; the mass amount of rock combined to make it was quite a sight. But that's not why he was there. His head turned left and then right, as if he were stalling or gathering thoughts. The male braced himself and opened his mouth forcing himself on.

"_Father!_" He shouted without emotion. "Father, now is the time!" After the words spilled out he took a step back, as if he were considering running off.

_I can't leave now._ He thought. _Leaving after beckoning my father would be illogical._

A shadow immerged from the cave and entered the light. It was an old Vulcan, with a cloak like the one his son was wearing, but darker and worn out. He had the most serious face I'd ever seen, his eyes contained all the darkness of the oceans of Earth on a cold winter night.

"Yes, my son. Continue," his old voice rasped. Although he accepted his call, his tone showed he obviously disapproved of it as well.

"Before, we once spoke of a time that matters, deep in my mind, would be brought to the surface," his son's tone was serious, yet almost informative, as if he were stating well known facts.

"Yes. I remember," the old Vulcan said, the annoyance in his tone lessening.

"We'll there _is_ something on my mind; and I must tell you now before I end up living with a mistake for the rest of my life."

"Well, get on with it." Now he was glaring; probably half guessing what he was going to say next, but couldn't believe it.

"Father, I do not wish to be a monk!" The young male's tone gave way to nothing, but his mind was in chaos.

"Whether you _wish_ to or not is no matter!" the old Vulcan monk spat. "I have already told the others that you were soon to be accepted into the temple. I will not go back on my word!"

"Then I must rephrase my statement." He took a breath and pulled the hood of his head, revealing the face of a young male Vulcan. He had the average Vulcan hair style, nothing particularly special there; but his face, from one cheek—across the nose—to the other cheek, was covered by a wave of freckles; in which, dare I say, complemented his dashing aquamarine eyes. "I _refuse_ to be a monk."

"If you think you can take all my time training you and—" the old Vulcan began to protest.

"I wish to do something with my life. I want to _help_ other people, to be used, and _useful!_" Now some emotion could be heard in his voice, all though there wasn't much. "I'm joining Star Fleet."

And with that he dashed off without a single look back.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Prologue (Part 2): The Girl

_Drip. Drip. Drip._ Came the sound of the leaky faucet.

The water continued its determined mission to keep the rhythm constant; meanwhile, chatter in hush tones filled the quiet, empty room. If you were to follow the voices, a common scene you would have found. Four young girls sat at a table, books open and stacks of papers covered its surface completely.

"Ash, what'd you get for 35?" A girl with short red hair asked. Her bangs were in her face and she blew them out of the way; but she didn't blow hard enough and they fell right back to where they began.

"Slow down, Emma. I'm not at 35 yet!" A girl with her golden hair put up in a ponytail responded.

"Number 35? It's photosynthesis." A girl with very long brown hair stated. "I read ahead, like I always do!" she boasted.

"_So smart!_" Emma whispered while putting a snarl in it.

"Well, I _do_ admit I'm smarter than the common fools in this town!" Ashley looked aggravated at her insult; but Emma continued holding her fake smile, refusing to let her get the reaction she wanted. "Who else needs my help? Ash—"

"No thanks," Ashley stated in a moody tone.

"Emma?"

"No. Just fine," Emma answered without looking up from her homework.

"Oh. Very well than... Aceline?" She asked fourth girl.

The last girl was me. I have long-ish brown hair and blue eyes; there's no particular style to my hair, instead it has a more natural look. Aceline, that's me, stared at vase on a small table by the wall. I gazed at it with complete, never-ending focus and did not answer Sarah.

"Aceline! Aceline! Crickets, Aceline! What's wrong with you?" Sarah shouted. Emma and Ashley hushed her.

"This is a library, for crying out loud!" Ashley whispered loudly.

I turned my head to face Sarah. "Oh, forgive me dear friend, I was lost in happy thoughts." I spoke, making my voice sound proper to the point where it was silly.

"Hmph! Happy thoughts, you say? More like day dreaming." Sarah sneered.

"Why, yes. Dreams indeed." I said making my voice sound more cheerful. "Dreams that I might, one day, leave this town to become more than a common fool!" I raised my eyebrow at her.

She scowled back at me. "You know what you are Aceline?" She whispered, putting as much anger into the words as she could.

"Please, dear. Enlighten me." I answered.

"You're one of _those_ girls! The type that can't do anything right, flunk out of school, and marry some guy who's dumb enough to spend all his time taking care of you!" A spiteful fire was flaming in her eyes.

"Well, if that's so, at least I'll have more than you— oh perfect one! Good luck finding a man who wants a girl who always has to be right."

Curious and amused eyes looked back at me from Ashley and Emma; Sarah's face was blank. I don't think it has registered that I had insulted her yet. Sarah: A scholar? Yes. Smart? No.

I could see that this wasn't going anywhere and really didn't want to stay for her realization… So I gathered my papers, closed my book, grabbed my bag, and left. I made my way through the hall and outside to one of the library's balconies .

_She has a point._ I thought to myself. _If I can't bring my grades up, what will I do? I'm already a Juinor…_

I looked up to the stars and my heart longed to get away.

"I wish there was more to my life…" I whispered to the sky.

There was a flash of light.


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

USS. Guardian

It all happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, I'm on a balcony at your local library— there was a flash of light— and the next thing I know, I'm in a clear cylinder; able to do nothing but look around. Beyond my glass prison there was…

_What is this?_ I thought. _Looks like some type of control room from a space movie._

I almost jump when I heard loud voices. Two… _things_ came into the room, yelling at each other in a language I couldn't understand. One pointed at me; my heart skipped a beat. But, to my surprise, they yelled at each other more and the other one punched the one who pointed at me. More yelling.

_What the heck is going on?_ I thought.

The one who gave the punch started toward me. It slowly made its way to the glass and I leaned back as far as I could. It put its hands (At least, I think they were hands…) against the glass and crouched so he could see me at eye level. He was very tall, and I'm short for my age.

"Consider…yourself lucky," it spoke to me in broken English; his voice was thick with an accent I couldn't recognize. "You…will…be the first."

"First?" I echoed. "First of what?"

"We many only have you now… but we will have…many later," it rasped with a mass amount of effort. It turned its head to cough and shout an order, than turned back. "You…will be the first…of many." My eyes grew large with fear.

_Screeeeeeeech!_

An ear piercing sound echoed through the room and everything shook like a great earthquake. Its eyes became larger than mine and the thing raced out of the room, shouting again. Soon I heard sounds above me that resembled that of an arcade game. Tons of strange yelling. Then, Emglish words rang above all sounds.

"You and you, search the hull! The rest of you, come with me!" There was more arcade sounds from above.

_Swissssshhh._

My eyes shifted from the ceiling to door as it opened. I relaxed a little when I saw two men rush in wearing red and black uniforms. They quickly spotted me and opened up a flip phone.

"Pack to Guardian. Come in," he said to it.

"This is the U.S.S. Guardian; we read you, Pack," it responded.

"We've reached them."

"Well done. Bring them aboard," it ordered.

"Aye, sir."

One came to a computer near me and the other ran off. In a few seconds the glass tube lifted; I jumped down and hugged the man.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!" The other one ran back in.

"No others were found, sir," he reported.

The man I was hugging looked down at me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Are there any others captured?" He asked with complete seriousness.

I shook my head. "Not that I know of. He told me I was the first of many!"

Immediately, "Pack" pulled out his flip phone. "Pack to Guardian," Pack reported. "There's only one, sir."

"Only one? What happened to the others?" it demanded.

"There aren't any others. Something must have gone wrong and they weren't able to pick up more," Pack answered.

"Must be out lucky day! Stay where you are with the captive," it ordered. "We'll beam you here." A shiver was sent up my spine. Why did he use that word? _Captive_; was I still not free? In the next moment lights began spinning around each of us, flashed, and we were in a brightly lit room on a raised platform. The two men walked off the platform and I followed. Then a man walked up to them but his gaze was directed toward me.

"Well done, boys," he said in greeting.

"Captain," they both acknowledged.

"You are relieved to your quarters." The men left and I stood frozen.

"Hello," he said to me. "May I know your name?"

"Aceline…Lollit," I answered, half unsure if I should have.

"Welcome to the U.S.S. Guardian, Ms. Lollit," he spoke kindly. "I'm Lieutenant Sharder , captain of this fine vessal."

"Pleasure to meet you, captain," I responded out of good manner.

"Jay," he summoned a man keeping guard at the door. "Escort Ms. Lollit to sick bay and have Dr. R'mish look her over."

"Yes, captain," he answered. I followed the officer ou the door and threw the hall.

"He said we're on a vessal…" I mentioned to the man. "So…this is a ship?"

"Yes, Miss," Jay answered.

"But it's not in water?"

The officer turned his head and gave me a funny look. "No, Miss. In space."

"Oh, crickets."


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Busted

"Well…" Dr. R'mish said after looking at a paper. He was a strange doctor; came into the room wearing a helmet. Why he was, was beyond me. "According to these results, your levels are completely normal for humans."

I raised an eyebrow at the doctor. "Sheesh, you say it as if you, yourself, aren't human."

For a second he just looked at me. Then his eyebrow raised to match mine and he took off his helmet. "Ms. Lollit, I am not human."

I focused my eyes on him and concentrated on each detail. Beside his funny eyebrows, there seemed to be nothing different about him.

"Oh! I get it. You're just pulling my leg."

"Ms. Lollit, I haven't touched you at all." After he said that I laughed a little and leaned back against the wall.

"Okay," I said, dropping the subject. But then the doctor turned away from me and for the first time I could see his ears clearly. I gasped loudly and starred at him in shock. Dr. R'mish quickly turned to see if I was okay.

"Doctor, what happened to your ears?" I shouted.

He calmly looked me in the eye and said, "From what I understand, your response is normal." Jay came into the room.

"What's all the yelling about?" he asked. "I heard from down the hall."

"It is nothing, Mr. Jay," Dr. R'mish spoke informatively. "Ms. Lollit has just never seen my kind before."

"Yeah, well," Jay responded. "She also didn't know we were in space." Now I was starting to feel embarrassed.

"Fascinating," the doctor commented.

"I'm…terribly sorry, Doctor. I was unaware…" He nodded and turned again to continue whatever he was doing. I sat down on the medical bed…thingy, when all of a sudden the speakers on the walls began echoing the captain's voice.

"…This is you captain. The Packlots are returning and will come aboard. Prepare yourselves."

"The Packlots?" I asked the doctor. Before he could answer, his flip phone started giving orders.

"R'mish, bring Ms. Lollit to the bridge," came the captain's voice.

When we reached the bridge, I— for the first time, saw the vast expansion of space. "We really are in space…" I whispered to myself.

The captain rose from his cool, futuristic chair and quickly walked over to Dr. R'mish. He whispered in the doctor's ear and then turned to me.

"You are going to pretend to be a science officer," he informed me. "The Packlots are coming to check everyone. They scan your DNA and see if you're a member of Star Fleet." I assumed that was where everyone here was from and asked no questions. "The doctor, here, will tell you information and provide a uniform."

Before I knew it, I was grabbed by the arm and pulled away.

"I don't know…" I commented, hiding behind a curtain. "This dress in pretty short…even with the leggings." I pulled the curtain away. The doctor's face showed no emotion but I thought I say a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. "_What?_" I argued at his invisible answer. "I'm just saying it's not very comfortable…"

"It is a common, female, science officer's uniform," he responded with a raised eyebrow. Things got quiet.

"…You never told me," I said, quietly. "What are you, doctor?" He turned to me, his eyes pleased.

"I am Vulcan."

"You're 'Vulcan'?" I asked, interested. "Vulcans aren't common on Earth, are they?"

"No."

"But most know of them?"

"Most," he answered.

_I didn't…_ I thought, sadly.

"What are the Packlots?" He was silent. "Are they the creatures that captured me?" He looked away from me and sat down on a chair.

"About half a year ago, a race of unknown creatures appeared. They called themselves the Packlots. Strange enough, they largely respected military and are kind to Star Fleet officers. But they are an endangered species; they asked us for humans to repopulate—"

"_What?_" I reacted. "They— …they were gunna—"

"Turn you into them," he finished for me.

"That's so wrong…"

"They've created a machine that can turn humans into Packlots," he informed.

"And now they've come back?..." I was seriously freaked out.

"They won't take you," the Vulcan doctor assured me. "They would never take member Star Fleet."

Eventually, everyone was ordered to wait in their quarters. I don't have quarters, so I was told to accompany Dr. R'mish. In his room, I sat on the floor against the wall. The doctor stood near the door, waiting patiently.

The suspense was _killing me!_

_It's been hooooourssssss…_ I whined, internally.

It was completely nerve wrecking. About every twenty seconds we'd hear a knock, but it wasn't _our_ door. The knocks would be close, then far, then closer again. It had to be late. I was so incredibly tired; I would fall into unconsciousness within ten seconds, only to be startled awake at every knock! I need something to take my mind off this…Dr. R'mish! I looked at the doctor.

_How does he do it?_ I asked mentally. _Do they not __sleep__ where he's from?_

He must've noticed me starring because he turned his head and looked at me. "You can sleep," he said to me. I didn't answer. "I'll wake you when they arrive."

"I can't," I admitted. My voice sounded rough, sour. "The knoooo…." I fell asleep.

_Knock! Knock!_

I was startled awake. "Uh…er..what were we talking about?"

The doctor raised his eyebrow at me and left his post to look through a bag. My eyes closed and I was gone once again. There was a knock; my eyes burst open and I was startled by Dr. R'mish squatting in front of me.

"Ah!" My rough voice quietly squeaked before I realized it was the doctor.

"This will block the sound." He held out some type of small device with headphones attached.

"A music player?" I asked, surprised by the logical doctor.

"Yes, it's the captain's."

I was unconscious within seconds. Fell asleep to Linkin Park; the captain has good taste.

I woke to the headphones being taken off my head. To my relief, it was the doctor. "Nurse, the Packlots are here," Dr. R'mish informed me. I looked to the door and there stood two Packlots.

_Okay. I'm a nurse._ I thought.

"Oh, yes…yes! Sorry, doctor," I apologized, and then stood to my feet. One began checking the cloth on Dr. R'mish's uniform and the other did the same for me.

_Okay?_ I thought.

They also checked the badge and style of the uniform. The whole thing was making me nervous all over again. After they felt Dr. R'mish's ears they suddenly began treating him differently; less rough, more courteously. I jumped a little when an alarm went _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ It was while one of the Packlots scanned my hair; no doubt checking my DNA.

"Who…are you?" it asked with the same accent heard before. Instantly, I remembered the information Dr. R'mish told me before.

"Science officer, Lieutenant Lollit, Grade 5. Assigned as a nurse to the U.S.S. Guardian." My voice was rough and it cracked once, but I put as much authority into it as I could. One said something to the other, in their language; it answered back. Then the doctor's eyes became large with fear; this is the first time I've seen any form of emotion from the doctor. Fear gripped my heart as the Packlot ripped my sleeve off and reviled a mark on my shoulder. It looked like a four pieced diamond.


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

A Captain In Due Time

Suddenly the Packlot next to Dr. R'mish fell. As he fell, the doctor took his hand off his shoulder.

_Did the doctor do that?_ I asked myself.

The other grabbed me by the waist, picked me up, and threw me over its shoulder before dashing out of the room. Dr. R'mish was right behind us and catching up quickly. The Packlot suddenly stopped and dropped me on the floor.

_UUUUUGH! Cricket jerk!_ I thought.

He pulled out a knife and turned to face the doctor right when he was about to collide with him. I shrieked when I saw blood on both of them.

"_DOCTOR!_" I shouted. "No! Oh…oh, this is my fault!"

But to my surprise and complete relief, the doctor simply pushed the Packlot away from him and he fell on his back, a knife in his chest. I jumped to my feet and ran to the doctor.

"Oh my goodness, _you're alive!_" I announced. "You…you risked your life for me."

Foot steps could be heard down the hall; Dr. R'mish wasted no time. He grabbed my arm and practically dragged me down the hall, where we saw another Packlot with a gun. The doctor immediately made a turn, and there was yet again a Packlot with a gun. He wheeled around and made a turn in the opposite direction. We ran and ran until we reached a dead end. Yet again, Dr. R'mish grabbed my arm and began to make a turn…but he stopped. I turned around to see about five Packlots with guns.

The door slid open; Dr. R'mish and I walked from the hall into the bridge, three Packlots, armed with guns, behind us. The captain stood from his chair and looked questionably at the scene.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Holding out on…us, Lieutenant?" a voice with a familiar accent asked from the large screen ahead. "Coming aboard…my ship and…stealing my human? What kind of military…behavior is that?"

"Stealing humans? Humans aren't something you can own! You're taking _people_, kidnapping!" the captain shouted at him. "It's _wrong!_"

"_WRONG?_" The Packlot captain was appalled. "What is wrong is…that _you_…you have some many and won't give!"

"We can't give people away! We make our own decisions and lead our own lives! No one has the right to take someone's life from them and give it away!"

"I will take my human back," The Packlot on the screen announced. "And leave your ship…in _ruins!_"

I looked at the captain and then to Dr. R'mish. Oh, crickets. What have I done?

"_Over my dead body!_" the captain threatened. He immediately pulled out his gun and shot all three Packlots. "You'll have to kill us before you can have her!"

"Then death…it will be!" The screen went blank and I began to weep. Tears falling from my eyes, I looked up at the doctor. I searched his eyes for the source of his calmness, strength, and courage; I wished I wasn't so weak and completely useless. Everyone could die…because of me.

"Captain, you can't," I pleaded. "Just turn me in; I can't bare to see anyone on this ship die…not over me."

"It's not over just you!" he snapped at me. "It's over every human they capture in the future! Let's say we gave you over, what would happen the next time they took someone? Just hand them over too? No! We must make a stand; _here and now!_"

I stopped crying and starred at the captain with admiring eyes. "You're right!"

"Of course I am! Now, to your stations!"

Dr. R'mish instantly ran back through the hall and I stood unsure of what I should do. "Um, captain?..."

"For now you place is with the doctor. Try to make yourself useful!" I nodded and ran after him.

I didn't have to do anything hard or challenging, just handing things to the doctor from time to time and categorizing paperwork. Every now and then the captain checks up on us to see if we're okay, he seems like a very nice guy.

"Dr. R'mish?"

"Yes, Ms. Lollit?" he answered. Dr. R'mish is a really nice guy too, even if he's Vulcan.

"If you don't mind me asking… R'mish is quite a unique name. Is it your first or last?"

"The citizens on Vulcan haven't any need for the amount of names humans have," the doctor explained. "R'mish is my only name."

"Oh…"

_Wait… what?_ I thought.

"You said the 'citizens on Vulcan'," I repeated.

"Yes."

"And you're Vulcan?"

"Yes…" he stopped writing and put his pen down. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah…" This is weird… "So you live on Vulcan? Are you sure it's not Vulca or Vulcania?"

"Ms. Lollit, your questions are quite strange," he commented.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just strange to me. You're a Vulcan from Vulcan…"

"Yes. What of it?" he asked calmly. I searched his eyes for an answer, like before, but found nothing. The doctor showed no emotion.

"Nothing. I guess I'm just a little strange." There was a loud thud accompanied by a great earthquake. Immediately, I remembered the last time there was a shake like that. Falling out of my chair, my mind brought me back to me confided behind glass. I shook my head; now was no time for that. I brought myself to my feet just to fall again at another shake; the alarm went off.

"What's going on?" I shouted to the doctor.

"We were hit," he loudly informed.

"The intercom is malfunctioning; I can't reach the captain."

"Leave it to me!" I called over my shoulder, running out the swishing door. Racing through the halls, I finally made it to the bridge.

"Capt— …" I saw the captain scrambled and bruised on the floor. "Captain!"

"He's dead," a man on a computer stated.

"What?" I looked back at the captain's empty chair. "Where's his first officer?" I picked up on a few things talking to the doctor.

"No one knows." At that moment, another man ran in panting.

"I've searched everywhere…" he reported, breathing hard. "But I can't find the lieutenant…"

"Who?" the man on the computer asked.

"A Ms. Aceline Lollit."

"I'm Lieutenant Lollit," I said. He looked up at me with new found respect and straightened up.

"You're the captain now."

"Eh?" was the only sound my throat could make.

"Jay made her first officer," a second man answered coming in. "before he died."

"Jay was Sharder's first officer?" I asked in disbelief. "And now he's dead?"

"They're hailing us, captain," a man at another computer informed. All the officers looked to me for instructions.

"Oh, _no!_ I am _not_ the captain." Then the Packlot's captain's face was stretched out on the large screen.

"Your captain and first officer's dead!" the Packlot announced. I noticed that he didn't have a problem saying that line, which made me wonder... "We will..destroy...your ship, and take what's...left..to repopulate!"

_No you will __not!_ I thought.

I wheeled on him. "Fool!" He looked taken aback. "This is a _starship!_ There will _always_ be a captain!"

"Then...where's your captain..now?" His face was determined.

"I'm the captain, you endangered _rat!_" I shouted at him. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I...know you...you- " he began, but I butted in.

"Know me?..Have I already began haunting your dreams? What an accomplishment!" I smirked at him, hoping my idea would work.

Luckily, it did!

He grew too angry to carry on the conversation. "_Fire!_" he shouted before the screen went blank.

"Shields up!"

"All of them, captain?" an officer asked.

"Um...no. Just at the side they're shooting at," I responded.

_I hope I can do this..._ I thought.

The Packlots hit us a few times before I realized that their weapons had a five second delay between being fired.

"Shields at 60%, captain."

"How fast is the quickest weapon thingy we have?" I asked out loud. Some of the men were giving me weird looks.

"Our quickest has a two second delay," an officer answered.

"Can we fire those?"

"They'd have to be facing one of our sides," he explained.

"Okay. This is what we're going to do," I announced. "Of that 60%-"

"50%," an officer corrected.

"50%... 20% is going to be on each of our sides, and 5% for the front and back."

"Aye, captain," the same officer answered.

"Once that is done, begin circling around them," I ordered. Plenty of strange looks were given but no one objected. "Fire those quick weapons continuously!"

"Yes, captain," an officer in front of me reported.

I turned to the door and saw a guard. "You, there. Guard," I called; he looked at me in acknowledgment. "Take the former captain to Sick Bay." He nodded. "And when you're done, find Jay and take him to Sick Bay as well."

_Dead captains and officers? Space battles? Crickets, what have I gotten myself into?_ I asked internally.

Now, this is the craziest part, which took not only me, but the whole bridge by shock. My plan _worked._

"The ship's shields are down, captain!" another officer reported, in disbelief. I sat down in the captain's chair.

"Good! Continue circling and hail them!"

"Captain, Ms. Lollit is- " I recognized his voice.

Turning my head I saw Dr. R'mish looking at me. His face was impossible to read. "...the captain?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Doctor!" I practically sprang off the chair to him. "Jay and the captain are dead! I sent them to Sick Bay!" The doctor said nothing for a moment, and then looked to a nearby officer.

"She sent them?" he asked him.

"Yes," he answered. "Jay made her first officer."

"And..wasn't that just _great_...of him!" the Packlot captain snarled. Immediately, I swiveled myself to his direction.

"Correct, if I am wrong, you pathetic excuse of space mass; but wasn't it _you_ who said we would be left in ruins?" I asked teasingly.

"_This isn't over!_"

"Yes it is. Surrender," I demanded.

"I would never surrender to you!" he shouted at me in practically perfect English. 

"So be it!... No wonder you're endangered, you universal reject!" I spat at him. "End it," I ordered an officer. The screen went blank.

_I probably gave the order to the wrong officer..._ I thought.

"Continue fire," I said before turning back to the doctor.

"Incredible," he commented. " I can see the makings of quite a successful captain."

I smiled then looked down. "It must have been a mistake, though; Jay making me captain."

"Enlighten me, if you would, captain," the doctor said to me. "How did you manage to win this battle?"

"Well, Dr. R'mish, after they hit us about three times, I noticed there was a five second delay between shots. My guess was that they used that weapon because it was the most powerful they had... or that it was the only one they had." The doctor nodded. "An officer informed me that we had a weapon that had a two second delay, but it would only hit them if they were at one of our sides. So, I divided what was left of our shields and ordered that most of it be at both of our sides."

"But, captain, why not use the whole percent of our shields on the side they were attacking?" Dr. R'mish asked.

"I thought about that, but I wasn't sure if my plan was going to work." He nods.

"Do continue, captain."

"Okay. Well, I ordered us to circle round and round their ship, shooting our quickest weapons. I figured they wouldn't be able to land too many hits on us while their target was moving and having to keep changing weapons in an attempt to hit us."

"I must say, Ms. Lollit, I am impressed," the doctor complemented. "How did you come up with such a technique?"

"Oh, I play video games."

"Video games?" he asked.

"Video games," I repeated. The crew on the bridge shared looks of shock and disbelief, as if they just couldn't believe their lives were in the hands of a seventeen-year old gamer.

_KaaaboooOOOM!_

_That's the last of them._ I thought.

"Where to now, captain?" the doctor asked.

"Set a course to..." at that moment, I remembered Sharder's words:

_"You are going to pretend to be a science officer. The Packlots are coming to check everyone. They scan your DNA and see if you're a member of Starfleet."_

"Star Fleet," I finished and looked to the doctor. He didn't correct me so I figured I guessed right. "Also, I am resigning from being your captain. I am inexperienced and this is an important position. I trust Dr. R'mish with choosing the next captain. Acting as a nurse, I shall return to my position at Sick Bay." Then I left.

Entering Sick Bay, my gaze rested on Sharder's lifeless body. I sat next to him and looked him over.

_Oh, captain, what happened to you?_ I asked myself.

His head had bruises and bumps. Maybe he hit his head really hard? I felt around his skull; nothing cracked- no bleeding whatsoever. The more I looked, the more I saw that there were random bruises all over his body. I held up his hand to get a good look at it. There was a bruise on his palm, closer to his thumb.

_Did he land on his hand?_ I thought. _No...That wouldn't explain the rest of them... It's like you fell down an incredibly long staircase._

I put his hand down, but something nagged at me. I felt like I was forgetting something...but what? What was I missing? And then it hit me! I looked around the room.

_Not here…_ I thought.

Quickly hopping out of my seat, I ran out the door, nearly colliding with Dr. R'mish— who was about to enter the room. "Doctor!"

"Ms. Lollit?" he responded.

"Have you seen Jay?"


	6. Chapter 4

The ship was searched. Multiple times. Not only was Jay not found, but the guard that was ordered to take the dead body to Sick Bay was found unconscious in a closet. Tempers ran high and accusations were made. Somewhere in the madness, the new captain suddenly went missing. I had been in Sick Bay, searching Sharder for answers to the weirdness, when the doctor came in.

"What's going on out there?" I asked him. "Sounds like a hurricane!"

"It's anarchy!" he shouted.

"Anarchy?" I asked, surprised.

"The ship is in chaos; the captain's missing!"

"Is that why they're panicking?" I asked.

"No. No one knows he is gone yet," Dr. R'mish informed.

"I'll look for him," I said, standing up.

"Ms. Lollit." I stopped.

"Yes, doctor?"

"The the last time you left this room, I found you twenty-five minutes later… and you were the captain."

"Yes, that's true," I answered.

"Let us hope it happens again," the doctor said. That line, alone, filled me with hope. I left after giving a nod.

Finding the captain wasn't hard; what I found was half expected. I was quickly walking down one of the halls that surrounded the bridge until I heard the pathetic whimpering of a man. I had to listen carefully to hear it, but when I did, I ran to the source. Quickly entering the room, I found an officer with a yellow shirt on, sitting against the wall. The room was empty and mostly silent. The barbaric display aboard the ship was but rain upon a window here; I slowly walked toward the officer—my footsteps echoing.

"Are you the captain?" I asked him. He jerked his head up, fear starring at me through his eyes. It had to be him. "Captain, the ship's a mess! We need you!"

"I can't," he whispered. "I can't. This wasn't supposed to be my job. I was put in charge of the Engineering Room. That's my job."

"Are you telling me you won't go and try?" He shook his head at me.

"I can't," he repeated.

"Pull yourself together!" I shouted at him. "If you can't do it then assign someone who can!"

"The captain before…she resigned?"

_Uh-oh…_ I thought.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She was inexperienced and worried about doing everything wrong," I said.

"Nonsense! I'm sure she's fine!"

_Crickets! What a fool!_ I mentally commented.

"I now appoint her as my first officer and resign!" He ordered; I sighed.

"Very well then, you are relived of this duty and sent back to your old position in the Engineering Room," I said firmly.

"I'll take my orders from the captain," he glared back.

"You are. Now get going!" I snapped at him.

"You were the captain?" He asked, eyes wide.

"Yes. And now, thanks to you, I am once again," I said, making my way out of the room.

From there, I quickly made my way through the hall and into the bridge. The mess I saw was unbelievable! Yelling wouldn't do any good, too much noise. Then it struck me! That whistle thing! The whistle would diffidently be loud enough. I dashed to the captain's chair and found the person who was working at the station near me not long ago.

"Hey, I'm the captain again! Blow the whistle!" He made a shocked face and then pressed a couple of buttons on his control whatever. The whistle blew.

_Wheeeeeeeeeiiiiiirrrrrr~_

"Hey! This is your captain speaking! Quiet down!" I shouted into the intercom. Startled glances were exchanged before lots of upset looks turned to face me.

"There's a ghost on board!" A women screamed.

"Impossible!" I retorted. "…Your captain has made me first officer and resigned. I am the captain once again."

"How did the captain die?" Demanded an officer.

"And what happened to Jay's body?" Another added.

"Enough! This is no time to be hysterical! I may not have all the answers yet, but rest assured knowing that Dr. R'mish is doing the best he can!" For the moment, everyone was quiet. "…I need you all to return to your positions. We must continue our course to Starfleet. If anyone really needs me, I'll be at Sick Bay, speaking with the doctor."

"I just don't understand…" I said looking the dead captain over, once again. Dr. R'mish was with me, messing with some blood samples. "How can you bruise yourself like this? I doesn't even make sense."

"They are diffidently bruises. The tissue is damaged," the doctor commented. " But something's strange about it…"

"Mhm," I acknowledged. I was looking at the captain's hand. It looked…somehow different. "The captain seems to look worse every time I see him." The doctor put down his tubes and looked back at me.

"You've noticed too?"

_What? Was it not just me?_ I asked myself.

I held Sharder's hand to the light, like before, and noticed two things. "Doctor, I had a good look at his hand before, it's different." Dr. R'mish came closer. "You see this bruise on his palm?"I asked the doctor. "I'm positive it wasn't that big before. And on the other side…" I rotated the hand. "There's a smaller bruise. That wasn't there at all."

"An incredible observation," the doctor complimented before returning to his desk. " It all makes sense now…the captain was poisoned."

"Poisoned?" I gasped.

"Yes. A poison that destroys tissue," the doctor stated calmly. "It must have affected his organs, which caused him to die. We are just seeing the effect it took on his skin, giving the appearance of being very badly beaten to death." I covered my mouth with my hands and looked away.

_Sharder…Oh, captain…how awful!_ I inwardly reacted.

"You should attend to your duties as captain. I can handle things here," Dr. R'mish stated.

"But how? I have no idea how to be a captain."

"Act confident, charm the bridge, smile when victorious, give plenty of orders, and never allow your authority to be questioned," he listed.

"Oh, sheesh. Is that all?" I asked sarcastically.

"In simple, your job is to keep order on this ship; we're not far from Starfleet." I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thank you, doctor. Carry on."

"Yes, _captain,_" the doctor said. And you know what? Being called captain didn't feel all that bad. I may not know quite what to do, but I'll give it my best shot.


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Making The Right Choice

It took us roughly half an hour to arrive at Earth's "Space Dock". The crew split off in different directions and I was alone with the doctor.

"I have arranged for you to see someone, Captain," Dr. R'mish informed.

"Um…okay." He led me to one side of the large room-like…place..whatever it was. As we arrived at the corner, Dr. R'mish was greeted warmly by an older man.

"R'mish! Glad to see you made it in one piece!" He practically shouted. "And this is the young captain?" Immediately, I looked to the doctor.

"He knows about me?" I asked him.

"Yes. I took the liberty of contacting Starfleet Command and reporting the events aboard the ship."

"You don't say…" I said wearily, remembering the series of strange events that occurred over the last day and a half.

"I think we need more captains like you!" The man shouted.

"Like me?" I asked confused.

_No! NO! I'm not even an officer!_ I shouted at him in my mind.

"Yeah! Young, confident, brave, reliable under pressure… We need more just like you."

A feeling of panic began to rise in me. What if I can't do all that? Be all that?

"Tell you what! I'll give you a ship."

"The Guardian?" The doctor asked.

"What? The Guardian?...No, no…I made Sharder a promise that his boy would be made captain of the Guardian when the mission was finished. I'm talking about the new ship right out there," he said, gesturing out the window. "That's the U.S.S. Sterline, Lieutenant. She's all yours. I'll assign a crew for you; it'll take about a week. In the meantime, enjoy your short vacation." The man waved and walked away. I waited until he was out of sight before turning on the doc.

"What the heck just happened?!" I demanded, panicking. "I can't be the captain of a ship! I barely made it through the journey home!"

"Remember the list," the doctor said dismissively.

"The list? Doctor, I need experience! Training! I can't just keep using the word '_thingy_'!" I was practically begging for help.

"Perhaps a simulation would be of assistance?" R'mish asked, calm as ever.

"A simulation? _Yeah!_ Do you actually have one of those?"

"Well…"

"Can I help you?"

"Um, yes. I have an appointment to use the um…" I looked down at a paper with notes on it. It was my handy-dandy guide the doctor gave me so I wasn't _completely_ clueless on this simulation. "The Kobayashi Maru," I concluded with a smile on my face. He began messing with a device that looked similar to an iPad.

"Aceline Lollit?"

"That's me," I chirped.

"Go right ahead," he said, moving aside. I nodded and entered into a hall; a swishing door opened and reviled a bridge. I found the chair I saw the captain sitting in when I was aboard the Guardian. I sat down in it and began reviewing my notes.

"Okay…according to this, I'm on the U.S.S. Enterprise," I murmured to myself. As I read, other people started entering the bridge and taking their positions. I bit my lip.

_I CAN'T DO THIIIIIIIS!_ I mentally shouted. I began breathing in and out deeply. Suddenly, all the mechanical lights flashed on and weird noises could be heard from every machine. The mixture of sounds brought my mind back to the trip I just got back from.

"It's just a simulation…It's just a simulation…" I repeated to myself. I stopped when I noticed most of the officers were just staring at me.

_Crud…I have to start it,_ I thought. I looked down at my notes and read again the words, "Begin the captain's log."

I cleared my throat and sat up straight. "Captain's Log: Stardate…" Then I just sat there with this puzzled look on face. "Um," I looked around the bridge. "Does anyone know what stardate it is?" I searched my notes for anything about a stardate.

"What is this? A _joke?_" I heard an officer whisper to the man beside him. I narrowed my eyes at my paper.

_I __knew__ this wouldn't work out!..._ I complained. I thought and thought about things the doctor told me— things that Sharder told me too. Then I remembered something… While categorizing paperwork for Dr. R'mish, I continuously saw the numbers "7130.2". _Perhaps that's the stardate?_

Again I cleared my throat and glanced around before beginning. "Captain's log: Stardate 7130.2." No one said a word! They just went back to their jobs. So, I just continued. "Um..we're the U.S.S. Enterprise doing…some training mission?" I didn't bother looking around, I knew that was all wrong.

_Forget it! Just push on._ I thought.

"We're on our way to Gama Hydra: Section 14. Coordinates…" I looked down at my paper and read the coordinates. "22, 87, 4…Approaching 'Neutral Zone'." Suddenly a man that sat at a station near me began speaking.

"Leaving Section 14 for Section 15," he stated pushing buttons, looking from the screen to his controls.

"Oh..okay, thanks," I replied, forgetting to act like a captain. He looked back at me with a confused frown on his face. I ignored his expression – I've seen all the weird looks I can take—and leaned back…waiting.

"Well…" he said, rather unsure. "Shouldn't we be…I don't know…changing direction?"

"Change direction? Aren't we on a course to Gama Hydra?" I asked, generally confused.

"Yes, captain," he answered in a heavy tone.

"Then we should continue our course," I stated bluntly. He sighed.

"Aye, captain."

"_Captain!_" An officer with a red shirt shouted.

"Yes?!" I answered, startled by the sudden break in silence.

"I'm getting something…on the _distress channel!_" He alerted me dramatically.

"Someone's in distress?" I asked, surprised. "Cool! We get to help them!"

_What an epic simulation! Makes me feel like a hero!_ I mentally cheered.

"Captain..don't you want to _hear_ the distress message?..." The dramatic officer asked.

"Oh, sure. All ears," I replied, giving him two thumbs up. The message was scratchy and some parts had too much static to understand.

"This is the Kobayashi Maru. Nineteen _Criiiishhhh!_ out of _CRIIISSSSHHHHH!_ six. We have struck a gravitic mine. We've lost all power; Out hardest…CRIIIISHHHH! CRIIISHHH!" The dramatic officer began trying gain contact.

"This is the Starship Enterprise!" He shouted into his mic. "Your message is breaking up! We're _losing_ you! Please! If you can, give us your coordinates!" I did a total facepalm. This guy might just be as bad as me. "I repeat—" He was cut off—thank goodness—by the scratchy voice.

"Our position is Gama Hydra Section 10."

"In the Neutral Zone…" The officer near me breathed.

"Our penetrated life support systems fading. Can you assist us, Enterprise? Can you assist us?" The voice continued. I suddenly became very worried for the people aboard that ship.

"Of course we'll help you!" I said out load. "You, Sir," I said pointing to the officer that alerted me of the change in section. "Change course to Gama Hydra Section 10!" The deck was quiet.

"Captain, may I remind you that if our ship enters the Neutral Zone—" The officer began to say, but I cut him off.

"People are going to _die!_ Mr…I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Ravin, Captain. Ensign Derek Ravin," he answered.

"Wow," I said with a smile on my face. "Cool name. But, Mr. Ravin, I can't possibly leave those people to die."

"I understand, Captain," he said in a heavy tone and then pushed some buttons. "Estimating… two minutes until intercept." The bridge was deathly quiet. "Now entering the Neutral Zone." Right as he said that, a loud warning blasted on the speakers.

_Warning: We have entered Neutral Zone!_

"Now that we've entered the Neutral Zone, we are in violation of our treaty with the Klingons, Captain," An officer to the side commented.

"Violating the treaty is a small price to pay if it means saving the hundreds of lives aboard that ship," I replied.

_Now…what was that term that one officer used…oh, yeah! "We'll beam you here."_ I remembered.

"Prepare whatever you need to, to beam those people aboard," I ordered. But just when I feeling sort of like a captain, that one dramatic officer started shouting again.

"_Caaaaptain!_"

"Oh for goodness sake," I said covering my face with my hands. "What is it?"

"I've lost their…_signaaaal!_"

"What do you mean you've lost it?" I asked confused. But, as if on cue, the ship let out another warning.

_Alert: Sensors indicate three Klingon cruisers, baring 316 Mark 4. Closing fast._

"That doesn't sound good…" I breathed. "Someone, tell me the personality of Klingons!"

"Ruthless," said one officer.

"Prideful," said another.

"Okay, so surrender is out of the question," I said. "Dramatic officer!" The communications officer turned around and frowned.

"Ensign Gilas, Captain," he responded.

"Whatever! Send word to Starfleet Command! Tell them that this ship is in dire need of help and we're not enough!" I ordered.

"Captain, they're still coming!" An officer shouted.

"Shields up! We have to get out of here."

"We're leaving them?" Ensign Gilas asked.

"We have to. We've alerted Starfleet of their situation, but if we stay, there's nothing we can do," I explained. "We need reinforcements, but they'll never come in time."

"But they will destroy the Kobayashi Maru." I stopped for a moment.

_That's true. Whatever they'd do to us if we'd surrender, they'd do the same or worse to them._ I thought.

"It's us…or them," I whispered.

_It's my duty to protect everyone on this ship…but how can I leave those people to the Klingon's mercy? Oh, I wish Dr. R'mish were here…_ I thought. With a heavy heart, I made my decision.

"We have to go. Mr. Ravin, get us out of here," I sad in a sad tone.

"What if they don't make it?" He asked.

"And what if they do? That's not something I can control right now. Yes, I would love to save them, but my duty is to protect the people on this ship. My decision has been made."

As I walked out the doors of the building, I looked up and saw Dr. R'mish waiting on a nearby stone bench. I walked to him and sat down without a word. He didn't say anything either. We both just sat there. I stared down at the ground, and he stared at a tree. Five minutes passed before I finally spoke.

"I made the wrong choice..didn't I?"

"That all depends, what did you do?" The doctor asked.

"I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I entered the Neutral Zone, found the Kobayashi Maru, and deserted it," I said, upset with my decisions.

"And why did you do that?"

"There were Klingon ships! Three of them. There was no way I could win against them; besides, it was a rescue mission, not war! But I knew they weren't going to listen. If we stayed, everyone on board would've died. There's a chance for the Kobayashi Maru; there wasn't a chance for us. We weren't broken down and obviously needing help. If we stayed, we might've _all_ died! I…I didn't want everyone to die because of my dumb decision!" I said, getting real emotional. "I thought going in and saving them was the right thing, but apparently not! I lost the simulation, and it was probably an easy one to win.." R'mish was quiet and calm.

"Ms. Lollit, the Kobayashi Maru simulation is a no-win scenario," he stated.

"What?!" I asked, baffled.

"There is no way to win that simulation."

"Then why the heck did you give me _that_ as training?!" I couldn't believe it. There was no way to win?

"The whole point of the simulation is for new captains to experience a life or death situation and make decisions under pressure."

"But…but.." I babbled. "I..but I.." Then I sighed. There was no point in arguing with the Vulcan doctor. I have five days. Five days until I'm the captain of the U.S.S. Sterline. What am I going to do?"

"I would suggest you find a first officer you can trust," he said.

"I meant— _ugh!_ Do you do this to everybody or is it just me?" I snapped. The doctor didn't answer and stayed quiet for a moment.

"Ms. Lollit, there is an event tonight. It's specifically for captains and their first officers. Perhaps you could attend and I could accompany you?"

"Oh my gosh, you're insane," I said to him. "I'm in no shape to be a captain and you're talking about going to a party with other captains?"

"I simply believe it would be wise to introduce yourself to the other captains," he stated.

"Fine," I mumbled.

"And then you can begin searching for a first officer," he concluded.

"One thing at a time, R'mish."


End file.
